Tomorrow
by Holding
Summary: - Death is hardly an end.
1. Ch 00 - Prologue: The Primeval Atom

+Disclaimer:

The universe and characters of My Hero Academia belong to Horikoshi and his talented team, I own only the plot.

+Legend:

_Flashback _(whole sentences/paragraphs)_/emphasis _(single (groups of) words)

"_thought_", "dialogue"

* * *

0 - + - 0

Evolution. Such a lofty word to throw around, and yet, it occurred — evolution of _Homo sapiens_ had already been rapidly accelerating due to all the interference said species had made; with its inhabited planet and everything on it. At the advent of the 22nd century, mutations across the globe began noticeably appearing, with increasing residue in DNA, and finally resulted in the next genetically different human. A bioluminescent infant born in an eastern Chinese coastal city, the first _Homo temere_. The original classification had intended to be _Homo melior_ — superior man — yet the sporadic and patternless nature of these mutations left professionals and scientists both baffled and underwhelmed.

Among the first waves of chaos and disruption brought about by the mutations of human, a mother became a martyr for the rise of a new order and society. The different child she guarded with her life; the changes which made the baby separate from the rest, she called them her "child's quirk." Before she was murdered and the dark ages continued. They would continue for another half-century, until the victors won and could finally write their history. The martyr became "the mother of quirks." The word gained that certain surprising amount of traction that can only be accounted to luck and randomness. A capitalisation later and the word became the official term — both scientifically and politically. The single most impactful word in the last century; 'Quirk'.

* * *

_A child, barely three years old, fumbles his way around on the ground. His mother, beaming yet keeping a very close eye, watches from the park bench, turning to chat with a rather abrasive-looking woman. They giggle when the child reaches his hand up, green eyes following it to the sky. Unbeknownst to them, the child sees _so_ much more than they do. A single pixel of nothing and everything — an atomic dot of the universe — is floating peacefully down into the child's hand. His eyes sparkle in wonder, grasping and yet failing to grasp, what is resting in his palm. Lowering his hand, he crouches over it, primordial knowledge of the universe pulsing from an infinitesimally miniscule point; as if only something so small could paradoxically hold _so much_. So lost in its tiny wonder, he doesn't notice a rather abrasive-looking child approach, but when he does, he smiles, and clenches his fists in righteous cheer, ready for some game or other — the cosmic fleck forgotten, but not forgotten. It is a beginning meeting the remnants of a beginning._

* * *

Izuku was an odd child. Academically gifted, his intellectual abilities were fields above classmates, and Inko only wished institutions had developed a more reliable I.Q. test since the 21st century — if only to brag about her pride and joy to Mitsuki. While he possessed a natural charisma of knowledge, it was undermined very heavily by his reclusive and awkward nature — something born out of ostracization and the consequential social inexperience. Despite that there was a certain energy and cheer Izuku possessed, some drive that Inko couldn't explain, yet that unbridled optimism made her swell with pride. He used that passion to almost devoutly dedicate his time to his two most prevalent hobbies; heroes. Even with an inconclusive quirk testing when he was 4, that didn't stop Izuku from researching heroes and their quirks, fanatically planning out his own future as a hero, especially in reference to his number one role model, All Might.

The other hobby of his — arguably the more note-worthy one — was an almost morbid fascination with life and death. Inko would often see Izuku playing with insects when he was a child, and she only hesitated to interfere or reprimand because she always felt like her eyes were playing tricks on her. "Didn't he just pull off one of those butterfly's wings?" But she would blink and it would be flapping about Izuku again, almost happily, before settling on his outstretched finger. Or she could've sworn Izuku had stepped on a trail of ants, but there they were, alive, and gratefully picking up crumbs Izuku sprinkled out — him kneeling just to the side of them.

As he grew up, he was always insistent on taking care of class pets or sheltering strays, and Inko couldn't help but be proud again, even if her apartment now had a dual function as a veterinary clinic and animal sanctuary. Transitioning out of primary school, while Inko would still see Izuku move the occasional snail off the sidewalk, or bring mashed up food to an abandoned nest of hatchlings, his interest became much broader, expanding to all kinds of life - even types of Bacteria and Archaea — but the focus was steadily clear to still always be on eukaryotes — specifically; Animalia, and especially, humans.

When a parade was held for Japan's late 113rd Prime Minister, Inko could vividly recall a curious-eyed Izuku looking up to her as they watched the television broadcast, and asking,

0 - + - 0

"Why are they doing that?" Inko would've been startled. But not with Izuku. She had come to learn to be able to encompass anything for her peculiar child. She took a moment to put some serious consideration into her next words.

"They're celebrating his passing. He was a good leader — he helped deal with a lot of the rising issues with quirks."

"Celebrating…" Izuku repeated, seemingly lost in thought. Again, he looked up to his mother with a furrowed brow, "Wasn't death a bad thing?" This time Inko was startled. That was a very heavy question. She couldn't approach such a thing lightly. She took longer this time, and she was grateful that Izuku had taken her lessons on patience to heart.

"…Death is… death isn't always a bad thing. It's a natural part of life, and sometimes it _is_ unfortunate or horrific but. Death makes life worth living. Death is mostly sad, but we celebrate because we know that before they died, their life was something worth celebrating. Death is a marker, a commemoration of the life lived."

"…Hmmm…" While she knew he couldn't have understood all her words as well as he wanted to, there was an air of acknowledgement in his hum. What she also knew was that his thoughtful pout was adorable, and so she proceeded to fawn over and cuddle him.

0 - + - 0

The word 'animal' in day-to-day use implicitly excluded humans, and yet humans are through and through animals. Very little differentiated animal species genetically, and even less so instinctually, habitually, or physiologically. The genus Homo presented many fascinating subjects for Izuku to study, particularly _Homo sapiens_ and _Homo temere_, which represented approximately 30% and 70% of the global population, respectively. Even while Izuku would pore over more and more human biology text-books and quirk gene research documents, domesticated animals could capture his attention every now and then — since they were the most closely linked animals to humans; besides maybe livestock. Specifically, he had started to visit a stray Akita dog which had made a home out of the park in between his home and school.

0 - + - 0

"There there." Izuku gently whispered, offering out the pork cutlet from his half-finished lunch; katsudon. The dog was a tad tall and lean-built to be wholly an Akita, so it was probably a crossbreed with some type of hound. That fact was harder to notice because it was slouching over from exhaustion and hunger. While suspicious, it was all too tempted by the fried food in Izuku's outstretched hand. Hunger won out in the end though, and the Akita sat in front of Izuku, before opening up its maw. Izuku couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that - he complied, and settled on petting the dog as it eagerly chewed away.

"Is this your supposed _quirk_, Deku?" Izuku sighed at that voice. He could at least compliment the persistence. "Talking to wild mutts, huh?"

"I told you not to call me that, Bakugo." Izuku turned around fully, to face a smug boy with ashen blond hair and a ruffled uniform, flanked by two very vindictive looking cronies. He stood up to properly face them, and the Akita stood up next to him, apparently eager to defend Izuku.

"Since when could _you_ tell me anything? Isn't it about time you admitted you're just a pretending nobody!?" Bakugo Katsuki all but sneered at him, and he received some jeers of agreement from the two on either side of him. They all approached Izuku, and Bakugo raised a crackling palm close enough to be threatening. Before he could react though, Izuku's hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist. "Oi! Let go you quirkless freak!"

"I'm not going to be a stepping stone for your ego. _Leave me alone_." Izuku spoke firmly, stressing the last sentence, but he bit the inside of his cheek; betraying the uncertainty he felt. Bakugo's wrist hurt under Izuku's iron grip, and Bakugo only stopped short of attacking or retorting when he looked into Izuku's eyes.

_The anger in your heart warms you now, but it will leave you cold as you die._

An eldritch knowledge hid behind Izuku's eyes, and Bakugo knew he was being shown a reflection of the future. At the passing horror on Bakugo's face, Izuku loosened his hold, which Bakugo used to pull his arm free — trying to hide the forming bruise or the cold sweat. He clicked his tongue and left, leaving his confused lackeys to follow up. The dog at Izuku's side didn't stop growling defensively until the retreating party was out of sight, and Izuku let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Thanks for sticking up for me pal." Izuku said, kneeling to properly pet the dog. "Here," he got the rest of his katsudon out and offered it to the dog, who happily starting eating, "you earned it." The teenager sat down heavily, taking a moment to relax his tense body, and enjoy the serene moment; a chill spring afternoon, the sun close to setting over the park — only broken by the eager chomping by the dog next to him. But it wouldn't last. He knew that it never lasted.

0 - + - 0

One of the many, many, quirk theories Izuku read, was "Quirk Singularity". The belief that the prolonged survival of a species, coupled with increased randomisation in gene sequences – such as what was currently happening to the human population – would result in drastic mutations far beyond anything natural selection could have brought about. Typically dormant or unused pieces of DNA now utilised, insanely chaotic and artificial human environments, and an unprecedented focus on bringing out the full potential of mutated genes, resulting in the most rapid evolution of any species, past or present.

To be fair, the 'theory' had already been proven — very much apparent in today's quirked society — and yet the question remained; how far and drastically would this singularity develop?

0 - + - 0

* * *

Tally:

1 reset point

1 death


	2. Ch 01 - Kübler-Ross

+Disclaimer:

The universe and characters of My Hero Academia belong to Horikoshi and his talented team, I own only the plot.

+Legend:

_Flashback _(whole sentences/paragraphs)_/emphasis _(single (groups of) words)

"_thought_", "dialogue"

* * *

"You're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe."

\- Dr. Stephen Strange

* * *

I - + - I

"You guys are all third-years now." Izuku's homeroom teacher started. "It's time to start thinking seriously about your futures!" Izuku had half a mind to look like he was paying attention — this particular teacher had a fragile ego — while theory-crafting a metabolism hyper-accelerant to counteract stamina-dependant quirks. Specifically, gigantification; the villain from the morning incident coming to mind. "I would hand out these future career forms, but I assume you all want to be heroes!" The teacher threw up the forms, and Izuku had to suppress a grimace, while the rest of the class broke out into cheering, unleashing quirks and being a general ruckus.

"_Quirk Conduct Act – Volume 5: Minors. Chapter 4: Educator and caretaker responsibility. Point 73.4, Admittance of the quirks of minors. (1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is the acting educator responsible for minors, (b) does not have a certified educational-quirk-license, and (c) intentionally provokes and or permits the usage of quirks outside of emergency situations. Penalty: Fine of a minimum of __25,000__ plus costs of quirk guidance and property damage, and 2 demerits against the offender's teaching license._" The law popped into Izuku's head before he could help it. To be fair, the only parts of the Quirk Conduct Act people bothered to learn about was 'Volume 1; Heroes'.

"Yes, you all have wonderful quirks," The teacher continued, "but you know that it's against the rules to use them in school!"

"_Ah, a bit of backtracking, but he's still liable for the penalty — if anyone really cared about it._" Izuku thought. He kept scribbling into his notebook, listing possible stimulants to apply to captured villains to avoid overworked-metabolism related injuries and unconsciousness, while the teacher tried to rein the class back in.

"Sensei! Don't lump me in with these losers!" At that abrupt shout, the class quieted some more, and even Izuku slowed a tad bit in his writing. He didn't like the fact that he was so familiar with that voice. Izuku quickly went back to penciling down his ideas, while Bakugo got the class to do a one-eighty; "As if I had anything like their crappy quirks, heh." Izuku let out a quiet scoff, but minded his own business. Bakugo was getting more and more hyped regardless — even jumping up onto his desk.

"_That would've gotten him a detention if Hikigaya-sensei or Yukinoshita-sensei had been here instead._" The rest of the class seemed to be gawking at something or other that Bakugo or Segahikui-sensei was saying, but Izuku had no interest in seeing Bakugo's ego getting stoked even more.

Izuku was the first one out of the classroom when they were dismissed for the day, and he was eager to read up more on the official journalists' articles about this morning's train station giant incident – to see if there were any details he had missed.

"Hmm. I thought the pointed noise and overall appearance may have had an indication towards a squaloid or reptilian zoomorphising quirk, something like Carcha's quirk Megalodon or Crocolisk's Crocodylus, but preliminary criminal background information only indicates a simplistic general empowerment and gigantification quirk, so his appearance is most likely vestiges of a parent or both parents' mutations." Izuku was mumbling to himself non-stop as he walked home, reading the fifth article on the incident from this morning. "This Mt. Lady doesn't sit with me well though — her reckless so called 'move' — "Canyon Cannon" — was hardly an efficient use of her stature and weight, and only served to increase property damage. And her posing," at this thought, Izuku couldn't stop the redness that spread up his neck, "was an obvious attempt to use sex appeal to win over the audience on her heroic debut. To be fair I can't inherently blame someone for utilising their attributes to the best of their abilities but capitalisation really isn't what the hero industry is about, although maybe there is a way to branch off into…" Izuku continued to ramble to himself, slowly pacing home—now passing through an overpass tunnel — very much not paying attention to his surroundings. He hardly heard a thing when an inky substance seeped through the manhole cover he had just walked over, ominously rising and coalescing into a slimy mass.

"Hmmm, a medium-sized body to hide in…" A sinister voice was what made Izuku turn around, and he found himself frozen in horror. Izuku found himself shadowed by a teethed, monstrous, glob of sludge, looming over him — a predator with its rabid eyes set on easy prey. Before he could react, the sludge surged towards Izuku, spreading forward to wrap around him—the violent grasping of the slime covering his body finally breaking Izuku out of his shocked stupor. With terrified vigour, Izuku tried tearing off the sludge, only to find his hands couldn't grip or move enough of it. The attacker was saying something, but Izuku couldn't hear anything over his pumping blood. He didn't want to die, but the desperate beating of his heart — a war-drum in his ears — was a grim reminder of his odds of surviving dwindling by the second.

"_No!_" Izuku's struggling became more frantic, and his lungs burned from asphyxiation. Somewhere under the terror and panic, his mind supplied him with the fact that his chest was seizing up, and his limbs were becoming weaker and number due to vasoconstriction. "_I don't want to die!_" Vaguely, Izuku felt something change, and his vision was steadily becoming spotty — his view filled with growing black dots, blotting out more and more of the horrid sight of that sludge, leering down at him as it suffocated him. His hands desperately tried reaching for the slime around his mouth but his weak grasp could do nothing. The pain of suffocating was like liquid fire, burning through the nerves in his chest, and slowly, painfully, Izuku died. For the second time.

I - + - I

Izuku gasped, terrified, hyperventilating and sucking in as much air into his lungs as they could handle, as he dropped to his knees. He clutched at his torso, the horrifying pain and memory of being choked, very much fresh in his mind. "What was that?" Izuku asked himself, before looking around, and seeing the same underpass tunnel where that- that… vision? Where he had died. His wide, scared eyes settled on the manhole cover from which the sludge had risen. And then something started leaking through the holes in the manhole cover. "No." Was all Izuku could manage, in a stricken voice. He turned tail and sprinted as fast as he could.

"Hmmm, a medium-sized body to hide in…" Izuku had only made it a couple of metres away before something gripped his ankle, and he fell to the floor hard — the wind knocked out of him — before being dragged back to the sludge, his nails desperately scraping at the concrete pavement for any kind of purchase. Even though he had managed to buy a few more seconds, the sludge once again quickly encompassed him, and he once again had to experience being suffocated to death.

I - + - I

"AHHHHHHHH!" Izuku fell onto his behind, gasping and crying, confused and horrified. "No no no, this can't be it. What is happening?! Is my… why resetting? What else… No but I'll just keep dying!" The sludge villain arose from the sewer to find a hysterical teen.

"Hmmm. This'll have to do." Izuku died for the fourth time.

I - + - I

"This can't be happening." Izuku once again fell backwards, clutching at his hair, while his blood pressure, heart rate, and adrenalin rose to dangerous levels. The chemical receptors in Izuku's brain were getting overloaded, and because of the resets his body was experiencing this fifth time through as if it was only his first time. "I can't. _I can't. I don't know_what'sgoingonplea-" Izuku collapsed. By the time the sludge moved towards him, Izuku's heart had already stopped.

I - + - I

"Stop it _stop it_ _STOP IT_." The sludge villain surged towards a sitting teen, and was surprised to find the child fight back like a feral, cornered animal. Izuku thrashed and clawed, actually managing to swipe at the villain's eye, which did little more than anger the villain. No matter how hard the villain tried to subdue the teen, there was a manic desperation that kept fuelling Izuku to live. The sludge had had enough though, and so he completely engulfed the child's head. It didn't take long for Izuku to stop struggling.

I - + - I

As devastated as Izuku's state of mind was, he finally started to regain his bearings, and he immediately started to sprint away when the reset occurred. This time he managed to put ten metres between himself and the manhole cover, before he was grabbed by the ankle and forcefully dragged back to the tunnel. He fought back furiously, but without the previous mania from the last reset, even as he was covered in the all-too-familiar slime — once again forced to hold his breath.

Despite the onset symptoms of asphyxiation and the panic it brought, he made sure to avoid clawing the sludge's eyes. Izuku felt like he was going crazy, but he didn't want to die again. As his vision faded in and out of focus, he felt even more delusional when the manhole cover — from which the sludge had come — erupted. Izuku had fully come to accept that he had gone completely insane, when the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was All Might.

I - + - I

"Kid! Hey! Hey!" Izuku couldn't begin to describe how happy he felt to drift back into consciousness — rather than simply blinking back into a moment after dying. "Thank goodness." On the outside he felt so tired and drained, and his exhausted appearance did well to reflect that. On the inside Izuku felt like throwing up and crying and screaming and curling up into a ball, but Izuku didn't like the idea of waiting around to die – it was probably the last thing he wanted to do. He needed to get home, or to the police, or to anywhere even remotely safe. Maybe the hospital. Because Izuku's mind was currently getting ripped apart. Maybe he had gone insane. "Uh. Kid? You there? Maybe that villain did more of a number on you than I thought." Izuku finally looked up to the voice that had been steadily becoming clearer and louder, as he got his wits about him after passing out.

"I've gone crazy." Leaning over Izuku, was none other than the "world's Symbol of Peace", the recognised "number one hero" in all but a few of the globe's 148 countries. Izuku stared owlishly at All Might for a moment, before pinching himself hard. He looked back up and was thoroughly surprised All Might was still there. "Prolonged, repeated, and mentally traumatic hallucinations. Or is this the afterlife? Is this a form of punishment, I really went to hell? What's going on?" Izuku's mumbling was quiet and disturbed. Nothing made sense to him. All Might however, made sense of Izuku's quiet murmurs as speechlessness. Nonetheless he was relieved to see the young man conscious and seemingly undamaged, albeit very shaken from being attacked by the villain.

"_God damnit Toshi, more collateral damage __— __this poor kid._" All Might thought to himself. He was about to speak more to explain the situation and apologise for his mistake, when he felt his abdomen wrench in pain, the taste of blood rising up onto his tongue. "_Ah crap, I need to wrap it up._" "Well, sorry for getting you caught up in my villain hunt, but thanks to you, I've contained the villain! I really must bring this fellow to the authorities!" "_This feels terrible leaving this kid in that state but I can't risk getting exposed._" All Might had begun turning away and preparing to jump off, when Izuku finally came to realise that maybe All Might was real and right in front of him. His exhausted, disturbed expression collapsed into tears of relief, and he rushed towards All Might. Only to get launched by the force of All Might jumping off. Launched straight into a brick wall. For an instant, Izuku felt a sharp, piercing pain spread across his skull, before his mind and vision went black.

I - + - I

"What the FUCK!" The usually soft-spoken Izuku collapsed, at that same spot again; just past the manhole cover beneath the edge of an underpass. "Are my deaths causing a reset, where I come back to this point, just before I was attacked by that sludge villain?" Izuku scratched his scalp — the phantom pain from the previous reset still there — and the image of the brick wall flying at him much too quickly still vivid in his mind.

Or rather, him flying at the brick wall. "Is it linear? Do I just have to last long enough for All Might to come?" He peeked at the manhole cover, and was greeted with the familiar image of a dark substance seeping through the holes. "_Ugh. I'll have to find out the hard way, won't I?_"

Izuku got up and sprinted, this time angling and running along the wall, to be more in the villain's peripheral rather than their direct line of sight. While taking off his backpack, Izuku looked over his shoulder, and saw the slime rapidly approaching. He aimed and threw, managing to hit the sludge's upper mass — where its eyes were —, slowing it down, if only for a second. "_I just have to hold out for as long as possi-_" Izuku slammed into the ground hard when the sludge pulled his ankle harshly, but this time he was ready — bracing his chest to avoid getting too winded. Once again, the slime began to surround him, and he breathed in as large a gulp of air as he could, before he had to hold his breath.

He felt sickly — a very real, gripping sense of panic threatening to rise and overtake Izuku's mind. Shutting his eyes hard and clenching every part of his body, Izuku tried to roll around — writhing his body about. His mind was whirling and working overdrive, every nerve and cell alive — intent on staying that way too. "_Focus. Focus. Don't lose your cool. Be too aggressive and the slime will lose its patience. Be too passive and you die again._"

Izuku opened his eyes to the sight of the sludge wrapping around him, yet he didn't feel any immediate, direct pain. "_The slime isn't particularly dense, nor can it flex as well as a solid could. Thus minimal to no compressive pressure or muscular strength. It utilises its liquidus properties to fill gaps properly, __— __to surround and suffocate __— __and avoids removal due to the low level of intermolecular cohesion._"

He swiped at the sludge minimally; enough to convince the villain of progress — so as to stall — but not enough to exhaust himself and reduce the amount of oxygen, and therefore time, he had. "_If it could utilise the morphic properties completely, the villain would turn a part of itself into a puncturing point and create its own entry point. Suffocation is the best offensive subdual utilisation of its quirk that it has. Without fear and panic factored in, overcoming this is a matter of attrition. As long as All Might actually consistently comes through that manhole._"

Izuku's heart skipped a beat at that last thought, and he felt a terrible seed of doubt and fear in his chest. "_If these resets aren't linear, and the last one happened to have the one in a million chance of the single most powerful hero showing up to save me, there is no way it can happen two consecutive ti-_"

Izuku's thought was interrupted by the bursting of the manhole cover, from which All Might rose. In a spectacular show of speed, technique, and raw power, — that Izuku's delirious and oxygen deprived brain couldn't even begin to hope to fully process — All Might burst forward and blasted apart the slime, scattering it all about, while leaving Izuku only gently ruffled. "_To see that ultra-precise use of specialised and directed force — in person — which managed to disperse the assailant but leave me relatively unaffected is… is… ironically, breathtaking._" Izuku fell, more than sat, onto the ground and coughed hard, greedily breathing air into his lungs as his mind worked a mile a minute. "_It's done. Gods, finally!_"

"Are you alright? Sorry about that. I don't typically make such drastic mistakes, but somehow Japan has become a strange land to me!" All Might was talking to Izuku, and the hero leaned in close, trying to see if there were any serious injuries. He almost couldn't believe it — if Izuku wasn't dealing with the nerve overload of experiencing and remembering suffocating to death, what? Seven times? He would've been fanboying hysterically.

"No! It's fine! Thank you for saving me! I'm just a bit weak from the asphyxiation." Izuku tried to bow in thanks, but the blood in his body protested at the sharp movement, and he stuttered to a stop as the black spots returned to his vision. "_Well, and the memory of being suffocated too many times. Is this really what my quirk is? A reset button caused by death?_"

"None of that young man! Getting smothered by sludge is no small matter! You were very brave, and thanks to you, the villain has been contained!" All Might presented two large soda bottles, and Izuku had to squint to see that it was actually a dark green slime inside of them. He hadn't even noticed All Might collecting the villain.

"_He's so efficient! Wait. I should ask him for help!_" Izuku's hand lifted — almost as if to reach out to All Might — when he hesitated. "_But… would he believe me? The idea of a quirk that sends you back to a point in time after you die is ridiculous! There hasn't been a single documented immortality quirk in the two hundred years of their appearance, and time related ones were almost as rare. Time quirks that did exist were tenuous or short-term at best._"

But then he remembered that this was All Might. The Symbol of Peace. Izuku steeled his body, and tried to speak as steady as he could. "All Might, I need your help."

"Are you injur-" All Might's words left him, the moment he saw the look on the boy's face.

Toshinori had been through a lot; seven wars, — official and unofficial — a permanently crippled respiratory and digestive system, pain, solitude, and failures to last three lifetimes, and no shortage of grieving victims or their friends and families. He knew that haunted look anywhere. Someone who had seen death — things worse than death — with their own eyes. That roaring spirit in Toshinori became a single, sharp, focal point of determination, breathing "_save him_" into Toshinori's entire being. His next words didn't have their usual smile in them, "How can I help you, young man."

I - + - I

* * *

Tally:

2 reset points

7 deaths

* * *

I - Author's notes;

Quote of the day -

I would credit the writer of the line itself, but there were 3 writers for the movie and Google can only find out so much. That aside, it truly is terrifying to think about one's insignificance, when compared to the grandeur of the endless universe.

Hero Academia -

While I applaud Horikoshi, for the creation of the incredibly diverse and creative world that is MHA, there are so many problems that make no sense — which to be fair, are present in any story. "If you truly love something, their flaws will be as important as their strengths."

In some respect, this is an AU at a more fundamental level, besides just changing Midoriya and how the story would unfold. The world of My Hero Academia itself — in my opinion — needs some very large amounts of fixing. (A really good fic'; "The Long Way Around", by redgrass-and-silvertrees. Addresses how the quirkless are virtually treated as lower class. I don't want to spoil, but the alternate ending was very refreshing.")

Another massive problem with MHA, is the very poor portrayal of All-Might. Yes he is human, and yes he has flaws, so of course he won't be perfect in every way. But writing him off as some idiotic goof is a bit short-sighted. This problem is definitely aggravted more in fan-fictions. It is even worse, because they go all in on it, amplifying it even further.

Another big fix worth addressing straight away is the character of Mineta. Frankly, I despise him. And I can't even blame Horikoshi that much, because to be frank, compared to other manga and anime, Mineta is tame. At least it's portrayed in a poor light, so as not to sponsor such behaviour, and used more for comedic relief. But its existence in the first place is a by-product of this genre, that is so hyper-sexualised and perverted, especially towards females, minors, and even more so female minors. It's disgusting, but at the same time, I can't do anything about it. So I'm stuck like this — fuming, and removing a purple little shit from my fanfiction. :T

Finally, more of a lack of consideration than anything else, is the empty topic of Izuku's father; Hisashi. Who, where, what — and I don't mean the half-arsed explanation of "He took a work post abroad." Like that's literally the only relevant information on the wiki. Horikoshi has also confirmed that he will appear, but the manga is 246 chapters in and there's been only two mentions of Hisashi Midoriya; in chapter 1 (pg. 18), and that one throw-away line in Inko's character page in the Vol. 11 omake. Such blank pages in a complicated story like MHA actually gives some credence to all the villain, All for One, etc. theories.

Those are probably the biggest fixes that need to be addressed presently. Don't worry, Izuku's experiences of being bullied, neglected, and put down won't be erased (that sounded worse than I thought it would). Katsuki will still have a superiority (read; inferiority) complex, and Izuku will still be socially awkward — there will still be a traumatic past there. I'm not one for abuse erasure. (An amazing, well-written, well thought-out, and logical fic' I recommend is "Shattered Centers", by RubyWings91. I heavily recommend this story. It addresses many of the more bigger problems with Midoriya's journey, and provides consequences to canon All Might's idiocy, as well as some much needed catharsis for our main hero trainees.)

Word choices -

Yes I used the names of the Oregairu main characters — I am lazy. And for the homeroom teacher — I can't even remember properly, but I think Segahikui was Google Translate for like "weak-willed" or "fragile ego" or something other (I started writing this in early 2019). But when I recently tried to find exactly what I had used, or what Segahikui meant, I couldn't. All that came up was "short" and that doesn't sound right.

The word 'subdual', I admit, looks weird even to me and I only noticed in my revisions — but it is the noun version of 'to subdue'. I don't know, maybe it's just me. You know that thing where if you stare at a word long enough it starts to look fake? I had that happen with 'Portugal'. Like look at that! Looks so fake.

The idiom "mile a minute" perpetuates imperial measurements — which I hate — but growing up on Western media, it rolls off of the tongue so easily, and I don't really like changing what I originally wrote when there isn't anything wrong with it, language-wise. Still hate all the American (and some British) metrics. Oh wow, would you look at that, "metric" itself is literally a word for 'measurement'. :thinking face:

Who knew "leant" is an outdated spelling for "leaned"? I didn't. I stared at it for a minute before Googling and then subbing the letters out.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Hopefully I can write more often.

-August


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